People flying from airports in the UK and Europe are being asked to carry lighter luggage in their bags to minimise the risks of injuries faced by baggage handlers who lift massive loads every day.

The union, Unite, initiated a ‘pack less’ drive with the objective of urging airlines to limit passengers’ bag weights to a maximum of 23kg from the present limit of 32kg per case. The Health and Safety Executive (HSE) Aviation Industry Committee and the International Air Transport Association (IATA) have expressed support for Unite’s campaign.

Unite National Officer Steve Turner said the campaign was directed to asking passengers in Britain and Europe to pack lighter bags. He said a large number of people believe baggage is entirely handled by machines while in fact, a bag is manually carried and lifted by workers nearly a dozen times during the journey.

Turner revealed that baggage handlers hauled up the equivalent of an elephant’s weight every day, which made them more vulnerable to serious injuries than any other worker. He pointed out that some of these injuries, which workers suffer while handling luggage in cramped areas, could impair them for life.

Unite is has also demanded that the British Government and the HSE take steps for the protection of baggage handlers.

The European Commission is also looking into the possibility of unveiling new regulations to put a check on the number of musculoskeletal injuries received by European workers.

The ‘pack less’ campaign was also backed by the European Transport Workers’ Federation, which is asking for this change throughout Europe. Representatives of 15 European trade unions were present at the Heathrow for the event and gave out pamphlets to the passengers. Events were also held in other European cities including Paris, Rome, Amsterdam ,Frankfurt, Madrid, and Copenhagen.

Companies need to be sure that they are giving the correct instructions to employees with regard to health and safety issues; accredited IOSH courses can assist organisations to be aware of the proper health and safety procedures for all kinds of workplace situations, and make sure they are fully aware of the most up-to-date requirements.

This entry was posted on Wednesday, March 10th, 2010 at 12:49 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.